taken after the debate shows 67% of registered voters believe mitt romney had a better night. 25% said president obama. a cbs poll says 46% of uncommitted voters said romney had the stronger performance. 22% said it was the president. the headline in this mornings usa today, romney seizes offense on obama's record. romney takes fight to obama. after a handshake in the middle of the stage and talk of the president's 20th wedding anniversary, they got down to business with details on taxes and debt and what is best for this country's middle class. >> this is where there's a difference because governor romney's plan calls for a $5 trillion tax cut on top of the bush tax cuts and military spending that the military hasn't asked for. it's $8 trillion. how we pay for that, reduce the deficit and make the investments we need to make without dumping those costs on to middle class americans is one of the central questions to this campaign. >> under the president's policies, middle income americans are buried. they are being crushed. their income has come down by $4,300. this is a tax in a

goods. never mind next week's foreign policy debate with the president. this mitt romney needs to debate the old mitt romney as well. on each of these things he's taken the opposite position. there's an extended criticism of the president's take on syria, for instance. yet this is the same mitt romney who also said getting involved with libya would be mission creep. he opposed that in one country and now proposes it somewhere else. the point of consistent for him is israel. to pa are a phrase joe biden every foreign policy sentence has a noun, verb and the word israel in it. when it comes to the actual position saying a president needs to be involved in the middle east, it's drifted, that's true about the peace process. this is the same mitt romney, i believe, who was taped talking about the 47% and said, you know, when it comes to the middle east it's never going to happen. i will leave it to the next guy. >> we have that. let's listen to what mitt romney. almost literally said to kick the can down the road. this is part of the infamous 47% videotape taken surreptitiously in flor

does this employment number blunt mitt romney's debate momentum? and do you think the white house is going phew, relieved at this? >> if not popping champagne bottles. two-ways in which this number was so useful to the white house yesterday. it got the unemployment rate below 8% which has been kind of a line of demarkation. the romney folks have made a big deal about it being above 8% for so many months all through president obama's tenure. the other thing is the timing. i mean, all the reviews from the debate has been so negative for president obama. and this just automatically changed the subject. at 8:30 yesterday morning we stopped talk thing about the debates and started talking about improvement in the jobless numbers >> yes. david with respect to the conspiracy theorists out there, mitt romney is not latched onto all threat rick. but could all this talk, this talk, could it damage him in the long run? i mean, in some ways all it does is just highlight the fact we're talking below 8%. >> absolutely, alex. i think that the romney campaign didn't respond to that because they d

have you with us. thanks for watching. mitt romney is following up his debate performance in denver last week by introducing the country to the new mitt romney. the new mitt romney is not the candidate we've seen for the last couple of years. last week romney lied about his policies on taxes, education and health care. today the candidate's positions went under the knife during a speech at the military institute. romney laid out a complete reversal on his strategy for middle east peace. >> i'll recommit america to the goal of a democratic, prosperous state living side by side in peace and security with the jewish state of israel. >> the new mitt romney is committed to a two-state solution, but this is not what mitt romney told a group of donors in private. >> priceless tape. direct from romney's mouth, you hope for some stability and hope something will happen. listen to the new mitt romney today in his opinion on hope. >> i know the president hopes for a safer, freer and more prosperous middle east aligned with us. i share this hope. but hope is not a strategy. >> the new mitt romn

following up his debate performance in denver last week by introducing the country to the new mitt romney. the new mitt romney is not the candidate we've seen for the last couple of years. last week, romney lied about his policies on taxes, education and healthcare. today the candidates foreign policy positions went under the knife during a speech at the virginia military institute. romney laid out a complete reversal on his strategy for mideast peace. >> i recommit america to the goal of democratic prosperous palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the jewish state of israel. >> the new mitt romney is totally committed to a two-state solution in israel but this is not what mitt romney told a group of wealthy donors in private. >> and i look at the palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes -- of iz real and these thorny issues, and i say there's just no way going to remain an unsolved problem we live with that in china and taiwan. all right, we have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down t

to thank governor romney because i think this was a tresk debate and i very much appreciate it. and i want to thank the university of denver. you know, four years ago we were going through a major crisis. and yet my faith and confidence in the american future is undiminished. and the reason is because of its people. because of the woman i met in north carolina who decided at 55 to go back to school because she wanted to inspire her daughter and now has a job from that new training that she's gotten, because of a company in minnesota who was willing to give up salaries and perks for their executives to make sure they didn't layoff workers during a rescission. the auto workers that you meet in detroit take such pride in building the best cars in the world. not just because of a paycheck, but because it gives them a sense of pride, that they're helping to build america. the question is now, how do we build on those strengths, and everything that i've tried to do and everything that i'm proposing for the next four years, in terms of our education system, developing american energy or ma

debate. >> governor romney, two minutes. >> thank you, jim. it's an honor to be here with you, and i appreciate the chance to be with the president. i'm pleased to be at the university of denver. appreciate their welcome. and also the presidential commission on these debates. and congratulations to you, mr. president, on your anniversary. i'm sure this was the most romantic place you could imagine, here with me. congratulations. this is obviously a very tender topic. i've had the occasion over the last couple of years of meeting people across the country. i was in dayton, ohio, and a woman grabbed my arm, and she said, i've been out of work since may. can you help me? and yesterday i was at a rally in denver and a woman came up to her with a baby in her arms and said, ann, my husband has had four jobs in three years, part-time jobs. he has lost his most recent job. and we've now just lost our home. can you help us? and the answer is, yes, we can help. but it's going to take a different path. not the one we've been on. not the one the president describes as a top-down, cut taxes for t

, the post-debate political landscape seems rather different. a whopping 67% think mitt romney won the debate. 25% for president obama. there's a long way to go in this debate and the divide between left and right is growing. th brings me to tonight's battleground america. the debate you have been waiting for. jennifer granholm versus newt gingrich. she's the former governor of michigan. he's of course, the former presidential candidate and speaker of the house. just as in last night's debate, we are running a clock at the bottom of your screen to keep track of speaking time for our debaters although frankly, i want a real debate. if you two decide to go at each other, chew each other to pieces, that's fine with me. we'll forget all about the clock. if i want to interrupt and pick you up on any inconsistencies in your arguments, i will be piling in with impunity also ignoring the clock. so the clock really is just a visual tool to amuse viewers at home. welcome to you both. let me start with you, jennifer granholm. the opening question is what the hell was wrong with barack obama last

. the piers morgan debate live. in this corner, newt gingrich, one of mitt romney's toughest primary opponents. in the other corner, jennifer granholm, the democratic firebrand who lit up the convention. yes, we've even got a clock to see who talks more. >>> also, the man who said this about mitt romney. >> he is the worst republican in the country to put up against barack obama. >> what does he say now? rick santorum weighs in the day after the debate. and governor duval patrick on why he says this about his friend, president obama. >> i for one will not stand by and let him be bullied out of office. >> i will ask them both where this campaign is headed. plus my all-star political experts on what the candidates should do next. >> we are going to take back the white house. >> we don't want what he's been selling for the last year. >> this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> good evening. our big story tonight, 33 days to go until the election and in the wake of the first big presidential debate, the candidates are out on the campaign trail sounding like they're pretty well ready for round

romney. the issue of sensible gun laws. the first presidential debate took place a short distance from aurora, colorado. a victim had a message for the candidates in an ad that airs during the debate. >> this past summer in a movie theater in colorado, i was shot. shot in the face and neck. but i was lucky. in the next four years, 48,000 americans won't be so lucky because they will be murdered with guns in the next president's term. enough to fill 200 theaters. when you watch the presidential debates, ask yourself, who has a plan to stop gun violence? let's demand a plan. it didn't get an area. joining us is comedian chris. john warner and rebecca, contributor to the magazine. i feel of two minds about the debate. focus is good. depth is good. i was appreciative they allowed depth on the issues they talked about, but frustrates there's only so many of these. one is foreign policy. in terms of domestic policy, the next debate is basically it and the vice president debate. i feel there's a lot of stuff i want to hear them on. the other issue i'll say then shut up. i'm curious what you h

dimensions of the debate. first is that in this debate, mitt romney succeeded as forward looking. got the chance to layout more details about jobs and economy and tax reforms, and this is making him look reasonable and practical z it was reassuring this is exactly the process happening in this one 1980 keeb debate. reagan made himself reasonable and reassured american people he was up for the job. second thing is that romney was aggressive, obama was defensive. the president was always on the defense. part because he didn't seem to have a plan for what he wanted to achieve tonight but there is romney also being aggressive and saying he gets criticized for tax break for oil companies and responldz to the president saying wait a minute. i'm not in favor of that but just remember you gave five times to green energy company that's went belly up so. this is a very good about zit ziding obama but questioning him and pulling issues back to him. this is a the third item, tone. president obama came across as irritated and looking down. never looking up. and this is romney looking at the p

debate. soits not over tonight but there is a strong start for mitt romney. and this is an astonishingly good start and a very bad start for the incumbent president of the united states. >> you know looking at the twitter universe which is not a science study and this is seeming to me one thing the governor did get tonight that is important is that there is a lot of enthusiasm. people on the other side of the political spectrum seem to be throwing president obama under the bus. >> that is the result of sort of dimensions of the debate. first is that in this debate, mitt romney succeeded as forward looking. got the chance to layout more details about jobs and economy and tax reforms, and this is making him look reasonable and practical z it was reassuring this is exactly the process happening in this one 1980 keeb debate. reagan made himself reasonable and reassured american people he was up for the job. second thing is that romney was aggressive, obama was defensive. the president was always on the defense. part because he didn't seem to have a plan for what he wanted to ac

debate, more people would didn't watch the debate will hear about romney's performance. if they are not if romney or they are undecided they will be intrigued that he took on the president and did as well as they have now heard that he did or will hear they did. the criticism being made and you heard a couple of the obama spokesman making it, that romney won because he was so well prepared and had so many practice sessions. that is what we reward people for. >>neil: debate do not have a big impact on the ultimate vote but this year, and you remind me to say it is different, this is a feeling a lot of the president's support is relatively soft, built on shifting sand. a lot of the survivors are disappointed. they would be intrigued by an alternative, as carter supporter s saw. maybe mitt romney is looking less ricky, it is not a matter of him winning over undecided voters but, possibly, possibly, possibly, president obama voters? >>guest: i doubt that will happen. i don't think that is it. >>neil: do you want me to have another ice cream bet with you? >>guest: i was trying to say it in a

massachusetts governor romney, the republican nominee. this debate and the next three-- two presidential, one vice presidential-- are sponsored by the commission on presidential debates. tonight's 90 minutes will be about domestic issues and will follow a format designed by the commission. there will be six roughly 15-minute segments with two-minute answers for the first question. then open discussion for the remainder of each segment. thousands of people offered suggestions on segment subjects or questions via the internet and other means, but i made the final selections and, for the record, they were not submitted for approval to the commission or the candidates. the segments, as i announced in advance, will be three on the economy and one each on health care, the roll of government, and governing. with an emphasis throughout on differences, specifics, and choices. both candidates will also have two minute closing statements. the audience here in the hall has promised to remain silent. no cheers, aphraus, boos, hisses among other noisy distracting things so we may all concentrate on what th

and mitt romney. the republican nominee is widely seen as the winner of last night's debate while even the president's strongest supporters now concede he was not at the top of his game. and now the president is back out there on the campaign trail. he's getting ready to speak at a rally over at the university of wisconsin in madison. we're going to be hearing from him live this hour. but first, listen to what he said about mitt romney at a rally earlier today before he left denver. >> when i got on to the stage, i met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be mitt romney. [ laughter ] but it couldn't have been mitt romney because the real mitt romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. the fellow on stage last night said he didn't know anything about that. the real mitt romney said we don't need anymore teachers in our classrooms. don't boo, vote. [ cheers and applause ] but the fellow on stage last night, he loves teachers. can't get enough of them. the mitt romney we all know invested in companies tha

watched the debate, finds that 67% think mitt romney was the clear winner while only 25% think president obama won. let's get some more now from our chief political analyst gloria borger. gloria, how damaging was this debate to president obama last night? >> i think we have to let the polls come in. and we'll let the voters decide. but i think you saw from the way the president was behaving on the stump this morning that even he knows that this was a pretty damaging debate for him. look, mitt romney showed up as somebody who was reasonable, as somebody who criticized the president while being respectful of the president. and as somebody those independent voters, those undecided voters, those persuadable voters could take a look at and say, you know, i could see him as a plausible president. just by being there mitt romney was elevated to the level of the president. and he effectively i would have to say took charge of the debate. and the president just sort of did not really push him or force him or challenge him the way we just saw on the stump right now. >> i was pretty surprised by th

. president romney is a good debater. >> that is in response to reports that romney is prepping and plans on taking jabs at the president. obama spokeswoman is saying don't expect the president to fire any blows and he looks forward to continuing his conversation with the american people. the president is traveling with a prep team, david axelrod anita dunn and senator john kerry. kerry is playing romney during the mock debates with the president. the team is hunkering down to get the president ready. romney is campaigning in denver today with a stop with the wings over the rockies museum. paul ryan is at a rally in iowa. early voting in iowa is now underway. a washington post poll out this morning shows 63% of registered voters expect president obama to win reelection and a washington times zombie poll has the president with a pretty good lead. more coming up after the break. stay with us. you're about to watch an ad message created by a current tv viewer for capella university. matter. education is the key. it is the vehicle. it's the way in which we evolve. every journey is diffe

romney said the day after the debate about his 47% line. here it is. >> clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question and answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right. in this case i said something that's completely wrong. this whole campaign is about the 100%. >> okay. here's a two-part question. first part to you, ed. was this going to be his answer had he gotten a chance in the debate but he didn't get that chance so he had to trot this out in the first post-debate interview? >> yes. i think he was. i think he probably was going to be ready with that response. that was a really damaging comment on that hidden video about the 47%. the obama campaign has really been pounding him. i think he wanted to sort of address it. this is the way to do that so he can move on. the other thing i think this plays a little bit into the obama's campaign's approach which is to say he's all over the map. he says one thing, he says another thing. they already hit him on a couple of other remarks from the debate on that line.

debate, there were no knock down blows so the default still goes to the president. now, the romney folks are already making it clear, no, our challenger just knocked out apollo 3. now, whether that's the case, really, to me, the eye of the beholder, author davis is here, he electrified the alabama congressman who left the democratic party because more to the point the democratic party left him. now a big romney supporter, always a pleasure, congressman. >> good to see you. neil: how did it good? >> best performance since bill clinton in 1992. mitt romney strategically did everything he needed to do, and the democrats know that. if you look at the democratic spin, people walking around tonight, they are downcast. neil: you know -- >> there are at many of them. they don't have as much to say. neil: just peek around the audience, the number of democrats, seeing the ratio like 8-to-1 republicans. that's just me. you're seeing congressman chaffetz interviewed, but what do you say to that? >> you can't be a great communicator unless you have great things to communicate. president obama faltere

that debate. >> reporter: governor romney, two minutes. >> thank you, jim. it's an honor to be here with you. and it's an honor to be here with the president. i appreciate the welcome of the university of denver and the presidential commission on these debates. congratulations to you, mr. president, on your anniversary. i am sure this is the most remantic place you can imagine -- here with me. congratulations. this obviously is a very tender topic. i had the occasion over the past couple of years of meeting people across the country. i was in dayton ohio, and a woman grabbed my arm and said i have been out of work since may. you can help me? yesterday in a rally in denver, a woman came up with a baby in her arms and said, ann, my husband had had four part-time jobs in four years. he has los its his most recent job and we have lost our home. you can help us? the answer is yes, we can help. but it will take a different pact, not the one we have been on, not the one the president describes as a top of it down, cut-taxes for the rich, that's noting what i am going to do. my plan will ge

democratic nominee and former massachusetts gov. mitt romney, the republican nominee. this debate is sponsored by the commission on presidential debates. tonight's 90 minutes will be about domestic issues and it will follow a format designed by the commission. there will be six roughly 15- minute segments with the first question and then open discussion for the remainder of each segment. thousands of people offered suggestions on segment semtex or questions via the internet and other means. but i made the final selections. for the record, they were not submitted for approval to the commission for the candidates. the segments, as i announced in advance will be three on the economy and one each on health care, the role of government and the governing with an emphasis throughout on differences, specifics, and choices. both candidates also have to- minute closing statements. there is a noise exception right now as we welcome president obama and governor romney. [applause] revi >> welcome to you both. let's start with the economy, a segment one. let's start with jobs. what are the major d

love romney's debate style, but i tell you, if i could be that stiff for 90 minutes, i'd ... (vo) we probably won't regret it. ♪ ♪ yeah, oh, yeah ♪ ♪ yeah ♪ >> announcer: radio, meets television. the "bill press show" now on current tv. >> bill: how about it, 13 minutes before the top of the hour, stepping away from politics just a second here on the "full court press" this tuesday october 9th. we have a lot of great sports to talk about, and we turn to our good friend and share his sports expertise with the nation magazine, our own dave zirin. what do you say? >> hey, bill. >> bill: what do you say about the nationals? >> i don't even know what to say. experience might be a tremendously overrated commodity when it comes to playoff baseball. that's what i used to think, and i think a lot of us used to think was the one truism in baseball. but we're seeing it now the value of being young, dumb and ready to get out on that field and swing the bat. so it's an amazing thing to see the nationals and to contemplate that we could be looking at our beltway version of the series. if

washington. >> as the president sharpens attacks on mitt romney the blame game over his debate performance continues. >>> and why gas prices are soaring to nearly $6 a gallon in some parts of the west. >>> we begin this morning with a look at today's "eye opener," your world in 90 seconds. >>> this isn't a game changer, but it certainly is a small step forward. >> the unemployment rate falls to a near four-year low. >> 114,000 jobs created, a little bit better than expected. the surprise is the jobless rate fell to 7.8%. >> the same rate as january 2009 when president obama took office. >> now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right. in this case i said something that's just completely wrong. >> for the first time romney backed away from his controversial remarks about the 47% of americans who don't pay federal income taxes. >> this whole campaign is about the 100%. >> you want to be president, you owe the american people the truth. >>> dozens of american airline flights are canceled. the latest fallout from a seat scare on several flights. >>> gas pr

republican idea. governor romney at the beginning of this debate said that what we did in massachusetts could be a model for the nation. i agree that the democratic legislators and messages that might have given some advice to republicans in congress about how to cooperate. but the fact of the matter is we used to the same advisers and they say it's the same plan. when governor romney talks about this board, for example, unelected board that we've created, what this is is a group of health care experts, doctors, et cetera, to figure out how can we reduce the cost of care in the system or a brawl? -- in the system overall? because there are two ways of dealing with our health care crisis. one is to simply leave a whole bunch of people uninsured and let them fend for themselves. to let businesses figure out how long they can continue to pay premiums until finally they just give up and their workers are no longer ensured, and that's been the trend line. or alternatively, we can figure out, how do we make the cost of care more effective? and there are ways of doing it. so i cleveland clinic

romney, to take the stage for the first of three presidential debates. both candidates have spent most the cameras to prepare for tonight's debate. for governor romney, he has logged plenty of debate time during the gop primaries but he has not gone head-to-head the presidency untillnow. tonight's face-off will focus on domessic policy, including health care, the role of governments, and the number one issue on voters' minds, the economy. you can expect both candidates to have a say on the 8.1% of the unemployment rate and the national debt. keep in mind with early voting under way in 10 states already, many americans have already cast their ballots. still governor romney and presideet obama have plenty of opportunity to hurt or help their campaign in the next nine minutes. no cheering, no. now, the moderator, jim lehrer of pbs. >> good evening from maaness arena at the university of denver in denver colorado. i am jim lehrer of pbs news hour, and i welcome the new to the first of the 2012 presidential debates between president obama, the democratic nominee, and former massachusetts go

like most folks who watch this debate actually agree that hands down the winner, mitt romney, as cnn opinion research poll released after the debate shows 67% of those who watch have said romney won while 25% gave it to the president. joining us from washington to talk about it, democratic strategist donna and anna, both cnn contributeors. we were up late last night watching this thing. a lot of people are talking about it today. anna, first of all, when you and i talked yesterday, your advice to romney was try not to be funny, challenge the president, and bring it even saying novina. i assume that you are feeling pretty good that your prayers are answered? >> hallelujah. amen. you know, we saw america last night. we saw a guy who was on the ropes come back, get out of icu and stand on his feet again. look, last night was a very important moment for mitt romney. i think the expectations game really helped him. even though both campaigns tried to lower expectations, the truth is the american voters were waiting to see a very good barack obama, and president obama just didn't show

governor mitt romney about to start in just seconds. right here live inside the debate hall, at the university of denver. welcome, everyone. i'm megyn kelly. >> i'm bret baier. this is the first of three debates. 50 million people are expected to watch what will likely shape the race in the next few days. >> let's bring in chris wallace. we are told the oddsience is evenly divided among committees, republicans and university students. they have been asked to keep quiet. but what can we expect on the stage tonight? >> reporter: i talked to top officials from both campaigns today, and it seems clear there will be two battles. one over the state of the economy, right now, obama is going to say that he has made a lot of progress, but he is going to ask for more time to finish the job. the romney camp says that this is where their guy is going to be very tough on obama's record in the economy over the last four years. he will say, barack obama made a lot of promises in 2008. he hasn't kept those promises. they don't worry about their guy being likeable. they say the key is to day on offe